Bermuda Race had the humblest of beginnings back in 1906.

The brainchild of Rudder magazine editor Thomas Day, the first race drew all of three yachts, and to make matters worse one of the boats was dismasted at the start while another was delayed 65 hours from leaving the line.

Day had managed to stimulate interest in off-shore racing by organising coast wise races in 1904 and 1905 which took competitors from New York to Marblehead and from Marblehead to Halifax. These were followed by a race from Brooklyn to Hampton Roads in 1905 along with a Transatlantic race.

Despite the early setbacks, the seed had been planted. Sailors came to realise that it was not necessarily courting disaster for medium-sized yachts to sail several hundred miles out into the ocean.

Twelve yachts appeared on the starting line in 1907, but numbers gradually drifted downwards, forcing a temporary halt to the proceedings in 1910 when just two boats showed up.

Ocean racing in general declined for a period and the Bermuda Race lay dormant until 1923 at which time it was revived by the Cruising Club of America (CCA) led by Herbert Stone.

The race involved over 22 yachts -- mostly schooners -- but more importantly it became a permanent fixture on the American calendar. The start took place in New London before being moved to its present departure point in Newport.

That first race from Newport was won by Malabar IV , one of many famous yachts designed by John Alden.

After being made into a biennial event in 1924, it soon began attracting British entrants who sailed all the way from their homeland to participate. In 1926 therew was a very close race with Malabar VII winning on corrected time although Bob Baviers and his Marconi-rigged ketch Dragoon was first across the line.

Entries grew from 59 in 1950 to a high of 179 in 1982 with science and technology taking an increasing hold on the way races panned out. Serious competitive racing had arrived.

One of the first to recognise these changes was Carleton Mitchell, who in combination with Rod and Olin Stephens managed an incredible three wins (1956, 1958, 1960) in succession aboard Finisterre .

During the period of the 1970s and 1980s the rules gradually changed to favour the IMS and IOR. The most serious consideration through all this was its objective of safety at sea and the construction of well found yachts.

A development of a different scale has been that of the Maxi yacht. Nirvana , an 80-foot Pedrick design announced their arrival in 1980 when she broke the course record, making the voyage in an astounding two days, 141 hours.

In 1990 there were 148 boats racing under the IMS handicap rule in both Cruising and Racing Divisions while there were just under 120 this year. The average size of yachts taking part has increased from a 39 rated feet in 1972 to a 44 rated feet with the inclusion of the Maxis. Crew members have also risen from an average of eight per yacht to 12.